3 | Wine | Nebbiolo, Piedmont Misc

"An overachiever in this vintage. Crushed flowers, pine, resin, menthol and herbs add layers of complexity to the racy, super-ripe red fruits. Despite its generosity, this remains an understated, representative Gattinara with lovely balance and harmony."

"Offers pretty blackberry and floral aromas, with cigar tobacco hints. Full-bodied, with ultrafine tannins and silky, balanced fruit."

"The 2006 Gattinara Castelle flows with the essence of dark fruit, smoke, tar and scorched earth. This is a decidedly powerful, intense Gattinara endowed with gorgeous intensity in its fruit and fabulous overall balance. Floral notes are woven gracefully into the juicy, generous finish. The Castelle has more than enough structure to develop nicely for a number of years."

"The 2003 Sori San Lorenzo is simply awesome. Boasting the darkest color of these wines as well as captivating aromatics, it is a brooding effort packed with notes of earthiness, tar, smoke, grilled herbs, cassis, licorice and super-ripe plummy fruit. It shows the qualities of 2003 in its full-throttle, expansive style yet it also possesses remarkable balance as well as fine tannins for the vintage. Although there is a little heat on the finish, I found this an utterly compelling wine."

"The 2005 Gattinara Riserva possesses more depth, richness and sheer stuffing than the regular bottling. Incense, tar, wild cherries and herbs are some of the nuances that come to life in this powerful Gattinara. Another few years in bottle should allow the tannins to soften and the fruit to emerge with even greater authority."